Brazil's highest electoral court upheld one candidate's registration ban, not a general prohibition.
Why it matters: The ruling concerns João Francisco de Assis Neto's candidacy and does not itself create a new blanket ban. Any broader restriction on candidates convicted of violence against women would require congressional action.
- The Superior Electoral Court unanimously ruled on October 29, 2026, that João Francisco de Assis Neto was ineligible to run for federal deputy in Alagoas.
- Neto was convicted of gender-motivated bodily injury and sentenced to four years and two months in an open prison regime; he received 167 votes while his candidacy was under judicial review.
- The court applied the rule known as the Lei da Ficha Limpa, which allows a conviction by a collegiate court, or órgão colegiado, to trigger ineligibility without waiting for a final, unappealable judgment.
- The court said it would ask Congress to consider expressly covering convictions for crimes committed through violence against women; the materials do not establish that a formal bill was filed.
The Superior Electoral Court, Brazil's highest electoral court, unanimously upheld the denial of João Francisco de Assis Neto's registration for federal deputy in Alagoas. Neto, known as Dr. João Neto, was convicted under Penal Code Article 129, paragraph 13, for gender-motivated bodily injury against a woman and received a sentence of four years and two months in an open prison regime. He received 167 votes while his candidacy remained under judicial review, making the vote total relevant to the disputed registration but not changing the court's eligibility ruling.
The court applied Article 1(I)(e)(9) of Complementary Law 64/1990, commonly associated with Brazil's Lei da Ficha Limpa. In this context, órgão colegiado means a decision by a multi-judge judicial panel. The court held that such a conviction can trigger ineligibility; the criminal case does not first need to reach a final, unappealable judgment.
The restriction is not simply an eight-year ban beginning on the conviction date. Under the cited law, the period runs from the conviction through eight years after the sentence has been completed. The court's decision therefore addressed Neto's registration under the existing rule, rather than creating a new general prohibition.
The court also said it would ask Congress to consider expressly adding convictions for crimes committed through violence against women to the statutory grounds for ineligibility, regardless of the legal interest formally protected by the criminal statute. The materials reviewed do not establish whether that request is a bill, recommendation or another formal legislative instrument.
The MP Electoral Office said the interpretation does not automatically cover every bodily-injury conviction in a domestic setting. The offense must involve violence motivated by the woman's gender, according to its account.
By the numbers
- 167 votes - received by Neto while his candidacy was under judicial review
- 4 years and 2 months - sentence imposed for gender-motivated bodily injury
- 8 years - period after completion of the sentence covered by the statutory ineligibility rule
Yes, but: The decision applies to Neto's registration dispute. A broader rule covering additional violence-against-women convictions would require Congress, and the materials do not establish that a formal legislative proposal has been filed.
What's next: The court said it would ask Congress to consider an express statutory change. No legislative text or confirmed congressional timetable is identified in the materials.